THE SWEET POTATO. 13 



ing on a three or four luclies long, green, Foot- 

 Stalk, being monopetalous, Bell-Fashion 'd, not very 

 open, purple within, and whitish without, having in 

 the middle some Stamina and a Stylus. After each 

 flower usually follows one Seed, brown and having 

 several depressions in it. It is enclosed in a 

 roundish, brown, membranaceous Capsula, under 

 which stand five brown capsular withered Leaves, 

 as in the other Convolvuli.-" This is perhaps the 

 first description of the fruit. 



The red potato, "which differs from the white in 

 nothing but the color, is as common as the white and 

 grows indifferently with it." He gives an account 

 of the culture, which may perhaps best be given in 

 full : 



''They are everywhere planted after a rainy 

 Season in the Plantations, for Provision by the flip, 

 a piece of the Stalk and Leaves, being put either into 

 the plain Field after Rowing or into little liillocks 

 raised through the Field, in which they are thought 

 to thrive better. In four months after planting they 

 are ready to be gathered, the ground being filled with 

 them, and if they continue therein any longer they 

 are eaten by worms." We find then that even at 

 that time there were advocates of both hill and flat 

 culture. 



He proceeds as follows: "They vary very much 

 as to the figure and bigness of the Eoot, the color 

 of its Skin being sometimes red and most commonly 

 white. They are sometimes turbinated, at other 

 times round and most commonly biggest in the mid- 

 dle and tapering to both extremes." 



"They are boiled or roasted under the ashes and 

 thought extraordinary good and nourishing Food, 

 and because of their speedy attaining their due 



